An international flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and activists, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham, set sail Sunday from the southern Italian port of Catania, aiming to reach the Gaza Strip by sea in defiance of Israel’s naval blockade.

The boat, named Madleen, is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), a nonprofit group that has long sought to challenge Israeli control of maritime access to Gaza. Organizers say the mission is “not charity,” but a form of nonviolent protest against what they described as “Israel’s illegal siege and escalating war crimes.”

Thunberg, who rose to global prominence as a teenage environmental activist, broke down in tears during a press conference ahead of the departure.

“We are doing this because no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying, because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity,” she said. “No matter how dangerous this mission is, it is nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the lives being genocized [sic].”

Israel strongly denies accusations of “genocide,” calling them a modern-day blood libel and part of a broader campaign to delegitimize the Jewish state. Officials maintain that the naval blockade, in place since 2007, is........

© The Times of Israel